Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 17, 1993 TAG: 9311170125
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Post offices in only six of the more than 170 cities surveyed got higher marks from postal customers.
Roanoke and 14 other cities tied for seventh place.
"We don't want our customers satisfied," said Roanoke Postmaster Billy Martin during a midday news conference Tuesday. "We want them delighted. I think our most recent score shows that our approach is what the customers want."
The survey, conducted independently by the Opinion Research Corp. of Princeton, N.J., asked customers to evaluate 37 aspects of postal services including carrier and window-clerk service, parking availability, complaint handling and courtesy of postal employees.
Roanoke's standing improved 4 percentage points over last year.
By registering a 93 percent approval rating by postal customers, Roanoke also ranked 4 percentage points above the national average of 89 percent customer satisfaction.
The highest-ranked post offices were in Madison, Wis., and Worcester, Mass., which both received 95 percent approval ratings. The Chicago post office was the lowest, with only 70 percent of its customers expressing satisfaction.
Martin, who took the reins of the Roanoke post office a year ago, said his employees are responsible for the improvement.
"They are the ones who deserve the credit," he said. "We work as a team."
That teamwork comes in addition to a new emphasis by the Postal Service in making customers happier. The Postal Service is facing stiffer competition from alternative letter-carrying services such as Federal Express and United Parcel Service.
Earlier this year, Postmaster General Marvin Runyon told postmasters to lay off negative letter-writing campaigns against alternative delivery services and get their own houses in order.
Martin said the local post office has taken up that challenge.
Windows clerks are asked how to improve customer satisfaction, and an "Adopt A Customer" program enables postal workers to work closely with customers to straighten out delivery problems.
"We are handling customers and complaints in a more positive manner," Martin said.
From the survey results, no one in the mid-Atlantic region is doing that better. Roanoke ranked at the top of all cities in the region.
by CNB